A Man of Many Acts

Shreyas Talpade, who will soon be playing Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Emergency, is juggling theatre and movies with equal aplomb

- MANJU LATHA KALANIDHI

Shreyas Talpade thinks it's time to uncork the Last month, Share to champagne. he landed an exciting biographical role. The personality: former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Period: the Emergency, in a movie of the same name. Director: Kangana Ranaut. The shooting for the film began in July, and it is set to release in April 2023.

Soon after photographs of Talpade's Vajpayee look were released online, social media was flooded with comments on the uncanny resemblance between the actor and the statesman.

"Even putting on makeup to look like Atalji, a leader who I have deep admiration for, gave me goosebumps. The role will be a milestone in my career. I hope I can do justice to the legend," says the 46-year-old actor, producer and director whose roles, both in Marathi and Hindi cinema, have been lauded widely. He is best known for a variety of roles such as the titular character in the Marathi film Baji (2020), as a chief minister in the Marathi movie Poshter Boys (2014) and in equally impacful roles in hit Hindi movies such Iqbal (2005) and Om Shanti Om (2007).